Car-coupling



(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1.

J. A. ALEXANDER.

GAR COUPLING.

Pgented Mar. 16, 1886.

2 a 2 9 J %@m| w ass a. s-

(No Model) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. ALEXANDER.

UAR COUPLING.

Patented Mar. 16, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT Ei icE.

JULIUS ALFRED ALEXANDER, OF MONTIGELLO, ARKANSAS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,014, dated March 16, 1886.

Application filed June 18, 1885. Serial No. 169,035. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUs ALFRED ALEX- ANDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Monticello, in the county of Drew and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Gar-Coupling; and I hereby declare the following to be a full and clear de scription thereof.

This invention relates to a carcoupling the draw-head of which has an internal conicallyshaped recess, and in connection with which I use a curved round-pointed connecting-link, as is hereinafter more fully explained.

The invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure I is a front end elevation of the end ofa car provided with one of my improved couplings. Fig. II is a side clevation of said car with my improved coupling. Fig. III is a plan of the said car and coupling. Fig. IV

- is an enlarged longitudinal sectional elevation of the draw-head and the mechanism of the improved coupling attached thereto. Fig. V is a transverse sectional elevation of the said draw-head and the mechanism attached thereto. This elevation is taken on the linea: a: of Fig. IV. Fig. VI is an enlarged side elevation ofthe coupling-link.

The draw-head A is attached to the car B in the usual manner with a cushioningspring, b, interposed between the bearing part of the said draw-head and the fixed frame-work of the car. The sides of the said draw-head are recessed or housed, or otherwise provided with substantial ways a for retaining in its proper relative position a vertically-sliding frame, G, which is arranged to slide up and down in said ways a and to carry with it the coupling-pin D, which passes through and is held in place by the top transverse bar, a, of said sliding frame. The bottom transverse bar, 0', of the said sliding frame is engaged by a spring, E, which is arranged to habitually throw the said frame 0 downward, the said spring E being secured to the bottom side of the draw-head A, and otherwise arranged to ternal comically-shaped recess at a for the re ception of the coupling-link F, and above this comically-shaped recess a there is also formed another longitudinal recess for the introduction of a spring-buffer, A. A spring, a", behind this butfer habitually throws it out, as shown in dot-ted lines in Fig. IV, but allows it to slide back into the position shown 'by full lines in the said figure, and in this rearward position the hole or aperture (i in the shanks a of the said buffer permits the coupling-pin D to drop down into its position for holding the link- F in the said draw-head A in the usual manner. iVhen the aforesaid sliding frame 0 is raised up, and the butter A is thrown forward as its spring a is normally set to place it, the shank a of the said buffer is interposed below the pin-hole a and prevents the said pin from dropping down in the way of the coupling-link F when the latter is inserted in its aperture a of the draw-head, but as soon as another car comes up its buffer strikes the projecting buffer and pushes it back on its spring a and thereby places the aperture a under the pin D and allows it to drop down into and hold the coupling-link F surely attached to the draw-hcadA in the usual man ner. The sliding frame 0 is coupled by a link, 0, with a sliding bar, H, which is fitted to slide vertically in ways or lugs h, secured to the end of the car 13, and the said sliding bar is operated or moved up by either of the levers H I1 I1 which are pivoted or fulcrumed to the car, and operated,respectively, from the sides or top of the car, so that a car can be uncoupled or set to couple or not to couple from the top or from either side of it, as the case may be. Slides h h are fitted to the sides of the car so they may be shoved out over and lock either of the levers H or H", as desired, and a locking-plate, if, is pivoted to the top of the car or to a lug secured thereto, so that the said lockingplate may be turned out over the lever H, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. III, so as to lock or hold it down, and consequently the frame 0 and pin D up whe it is so required.

The coupling-link F has its ends respectively curved up or down, as the case may be, as shown at f and f in Fig. VI. This per- 'gether. 'bar 0 of the frame 0, so that the pin and frame mits the end of the link to enter a draw-head readily, either on the same level as the one to which it is attached or one higher or lower than it. When these couplings are in use, and a car is to be uncoupled and set to couple or not to couple, as the case may be, the link F, constructed in this manner and having its ends curved toward the same side, as shown in Fig. 6, is capable of being used with either of its sides upward, and consequently when inserted with its concave side down acts leverwise in the mortise or draw-head aperture for it, with its outward end depressed below a level line, and thereby adapted to couple with a car at a lower level, and when turned with its concave side upward it in a like manner has its outward end raised up above'a level line and adapted to couple with a car at a higher level. The train-men need only operate one of the levers H,H ,or H to effect the desired result, and as soon as the said levers'or either of them is operated so as to raise the frame 0 up in its ways a far enough to raise the lower end of the pin D above theshank ofthe buffer A, the spring of the said b'ufl'er will throw it forward under the point of said pin and hold it up until the next car comes up to couple on, and then as soon as-its bufi'er strikes the buffer A it will push it back from under the end of the pin D, and automatically allow it to drop down into the coupling-link F, and so automatically couple two cars to- The pin Dis attached to the crossmove up and down together.

Iam aware that draw-heads for railway-cars have heretofore been constructed with conical recesses in their front ends for the reception of the link; but the curved link I have shown and described, in combination with a drawhead of such a formation, is an important feature in this my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The spring actuated frame 0, pin D, sliding buffer A, and vertical spring a, combined and adapted to operate substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of a draw-head having a conically-shaped link-recess, a, pin D, its carrying-frame O, spring E, acting habitually to press the frame in a downward direction, the slotted sliding bufl'ei-A, and the vertical spring 0?, substantially as shown and described. 3. The sliding frame 0, the pin D, link 0', sliding bar H, and operating-leversjH' H H, combined and operated as described.

4. The locking slides h h h fitted to the car B, and operating to lock the levers H H H in place when required, substantially as shown and described. I

In witness whereof I=have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of May, 1885.

JULIUS ALFRED ALEXANDER.

In presence of D. T. HYATT, JNo. G, MCKENNEY. 

